Missouri man volunteers in Pasadena, California amid historic wildfire destruction

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Wildfires have killed at least 27 people and 31 are still reported missing, according to an update from CNN on Thursday. 

Nearly 450 Red Cross responders are in California working to help the victims of the continued fires, according to a Thursday press release from the American Red Cross.

Kim Mailes, of Neosho, Missouri, has been in California providing critical relief and emergency recovery assistance since Jan. 10.

"There are thousands, literally thousands of homes that are gone," Mailes said. "I've been in the neighborhoods. It's just like a ghost town for blocks and blocks and blocks. All you see are charred remains of houses and nothing's left to the chimneys. And so most people are unhoused right now."

Wildfires have scorched 14,117 acres across North Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County. Forty-five percent containment was reported by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in a Wednesday post on X.

🔥Incident Updates (1/15/2025 PM)#PalisadesFire
* Pacific Palisades (LA County)
* 23,713 acres, 21% containedhttps://t.co/VCgZCBmQfH#EatonFire
* North Pasadena and Altadena (LA County)
* 14,117 acres, 45% containedhttps://t.co/vgrTCmPA43#HurstFire
* Sylmar Area (LA… pic.twitter.com/Q96EIUxuYW

— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) January 16, 2025

Mailes was standing in front of the packed Pasadena Red Cross emergency shelter when speaking with ABC 17 News. He said the American Red Cross is providing safety and refuge, health services, mental health services, spiritual care, hot meals and emotional support.

The American Red Cross has provided more than 33,000 meals to people in need since the start of the fires, according the press release. Mailes said accelerated assistance began Wednesday.

"So we have Red Crossers in other locations across L.A. right now that are registering people who are going to receive financial assistance from the American Red Cross to help them get back on their feet," Mailes said.

Mailes has been a volunteer with the Red Cross for four years. He is a part of the Disaster Cycle Services Team, and often goes on volunteering missions as a public affairs manager.

"The operation on this particular operation, I'm assigned by national headquarters as part of the Advance Public Affairs Team, and we're documenting the disaster relief operation, telling the American public what we're doing, letting the local people know where they can go and get assistance and help," Mailes said.

He has been to 10 different disasters all over the country.

"We have a saying amongst us volunteers," Mailes said. "If you've been to one disaster, you've been to one disaster, because they're all different."

Mailes said this one's different because most wildfires he's responded to were in smaller, remote areas. But seeing thousands of people displaced in a major metropolitan area has been a different experience for him.

"The atmosphere changes, of course, as the disaster unfolds," Mailes said. "In the beginning, there's simply shock. People say, 'I never dreamed this could happen to me.' I talked to so many people."

He recalled one experience he had with a woman in Pasadena on Thursday morning.

"I talked to a lady this morning and she said, 'I didn't never dream it would come near my home,'" Mailes said. "She said, 'When I knew I had to go, I was going to pack some things and it just happened so fast I couldn't pack.' And so, she grabbed pictures off the wall of her family and things that are mementos. And she took me to her car and opened the trunk of her car. And there were just frames of of her son when he graduated and when they were babies. And it was all just arrayed in her trunk. And that's all she could save from her home."

Mailes said as people begin to rebuild their lives, he is grateful to be able to lend a helping hand and a listening ear.

"We're going to be here till the people need us no more," Mailes said. "We're going to be here to see them through this disaster."

For people looking to help, Mailes said becoming a volunteer is a great way.

"There are so many ways they can volunteer for the American Red Cross and they don't have to travel to California," Mailes said. "The American Red Cross responds to 60,000 home fires every year. So if someone can't travel, they just stay right in their hometown and become a part of the Disaster Action Team and help people who have home fires."

He said the biggest need right now is financial support.

"The American Red Cross receives no government funding," Mailes said. "We rely solely on the generosity of the American people."

Donations can be made to the American Red Cross by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or visiting RedCross.org.